Strike at Chile's Centinela copper mine ends after deal with unions

what happened

Unions representing more than 700 workers at Centinela, a copper mine in Chile run by Antofagasta Minerals, approved a new labour contract, bringing a strike that began on October 7 to an end. According to TradingView, 94.49% of voting workers backed the agreement, and the company confirmed the settlement. The walkout followed a breakdown in talks over equal benefits regardless of union membership, and three workers had joined a hunger strike to press for a deal. Antofagasta said production stayed at normal levels throughout, and the mine produced 240,400 metric tons of copper in 2025.

why it matters

The end of the strike lowers the risk of copper supply disruption. Until now, the walkout and the threatened supervisors' strike at BHP's Escondida mine had supported metal prices amid worries that the industry could not lift output fast enough. With that risk fading, the market has less disruption-driven support.

market impact

Copper: lower supply-disruption risk removes part of the price support

tags

instruments